Break up a bulb of garlic and mash the cloves with the skins on. Add to a few cups of water and bring it to a rolling boil, then turn down to a simmer. Add a few whole black peppercorns, 1 whole star anise, 3-4 whole coriander seeds, whole mustard seeds if you have them, a whole clove or two, and a lot of skinned and thinly sliced coins of raw ginger. Simmer it at least 30 min, or up to 2 hours depending on time. Strain out whole spices. Mash garlic cloves before removing, so they dissolve into the broth. Add soy sauce, salt, and/or sriracha to taste. Add chopped green onions and your dumplings. Enjoy!

If you don't have all those whole spices, just use as many as you do have. The star anise is really what's going to lend the flavor you're probably looking for when you say, "Asian inspired."

You can add Asian inspired spices like ginger, Chinese five spice or for a more Thai flavor, lemongrass and a curry blend. I also experiment with dumping broth by adding a few drops of sesame oil or chili oil...also a few drops of fish sauce.